BlueKai, which helps online advertisers target their messages based on demographic, geographic and other actionable information, has scored $21 million in new venture financing. The deal was led by GGV Capital, and included participation from Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures. Total funding in the company now stands at $34.7 million.

Blue Kai says it is building the world's largest online intent data exchange, connecting advertisers with more than 160 million online auto, retail and travel shoppers. Buyers of the data collected by BlueKai include e-commerce ad networks, Internet portals, ad agencies and other online marketing firms. [Post updated with comments from BlueKai]

Tawakol

BlueKai is led by Omar Tawakol, an online advertising veteran who previously served as chief advertising officer at Medio Systems. Before that, Tawakol worked at Revenue Science where he helped create that company's online behavioral targeting business.

"BlueKai is the data brand of choice for most networks, portals, and demand side platforms and increasingly is required by most agencies to assure they are getting the highest quality audience possible," said Tawakol in a release issued this morning. "This round will be used to scale our business by continuing to innovate how data is bought and sold while at the same time driving transparency for consumers.

As a result of the new funding, Jeff Richards of GGV Capital -- formerly Granite Global Ventures -- has joined the board.

"New Internet advertising models and technologies are launched every day, but few have gotten the traction and marketplace acceptance of BlueKai since its launch just 18 months ago," said Richards in a statement. "We’ve been incredibly impressed with what the BlueKai team has accomplished in a short period of time, building the leading aggregation platform for online intent data and the only auction marketplace for this data.”

BlueKai employs 42 people,which is more than double where the company stood in employment just last summer. It also plans to bolster staff this year. Tawakol tells us they face no real competition. "We have no direct competitors because we are the only auction based data exchange that focuses on actionable intent data," he said.

However, TechCrunch points to eXalate -- which describes itself as the "largest open marketplace for behavioral targeting data" -- as a potential competitor.

Asked about eXalate, Tawakol said that they focus more on demographic data and they don't auction off the information they collect.

"They don't auction data - they give it away on a revenue share," said Tawakol, adding that it is similar to the difference between CPM and CPA models. "This is important because in the online ad space, quality ad inventory is still sold on a CPM basis and lower quality inventory is sold on a CPA basis. The same is true in data."